Why do so many people put music over the audio of their ride/race videos? When I watch a video I only want to hear what the rider heard or did during their ride. It really kills the experience for me to have to listen to someone else's taste in music for the entire video. If I wanted to hear music while watching a video I could always mute the audio and play one of my mp3 files instead.

Every time I see one of these ruined videos I have to play one of my own climbing videos to hear what a cycling video should sound like.

Does anyone else feel the same way, or am I the only one?

Retro Grouch

02-01-11 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentrike
(Post 12162893)

Does anyone else feel the same way, or am I the only one?

Both.

Obviously everybody doesn't feel that way or they wouldn't have dubbed music onto the video. On the other hand, I strongly doubt that you're the only one.

dcf

02-01-11 08:21 AM

I think you've mis-categorized these videos... they're actually "music videos" that happen to have a spattering of cycle related material thrown in for entertainment purposes. Real cycling videos don't have music.

1nterceptor

02-01-11 08:35 AM

I put music on my videos now; otherwise you'll just
hear wind noise, the cassette clicking or car horns.

It's their movie. If they want to put music or whatever in them, it's their business. I don't think they really care what you think.

iforgotmename

02-01-11 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentrike
(Post 12162893)

Every time I see one of these ruined videos I have to play one of my own climbing videos to hear what a cycling video should sound like.

Can we get a taste of your climbing vid?

freighttraininguphill

02-01-11 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iforgotmename
(Post 12163961)

Can we get a taste of your climbing vid?

Sure, as soon as I lose the last 40 pounds I'm working on (should be within the next few months if I keep it up like I've been doing). Right now all my climbing videos are on my hard drive and not on YouTube, since I don't want to bore people with my slow climbing speed (and no, music wouldn't help that problem :p).

Don't get me wrong. I don't get on the YouTube comments section and start blasting people for how they edited their video. I wouldn't want my comments lumped in with all the other idiotic, trolling ones we all love so much :rolleyes: I chose to ask the question about music here instead so I could get an idea why the overwhelming majority of people put music on their videos. It is an honest question.

If the videos really are supposed to be like a movie or television show, then I guess music is to be expected. But even a typical TV show or movie at least lets you hear SOME of the background audio most of the time. The cycling videos I'm talking about have ALL of the audio replaced by music. Some people do this for every single cycling video they put on YouTube.

Maybe it's because I have watched so much freelance/stringer footage of things like police chases, fires etc, and amateur footage of events that ordinary people have recorded that I have come to expect and appreciate "raw" video. The clips people post of things they saw or did let me experience what they did while they were shooting the video. When I watch a video of someone climbing and descending a road I have ridden on before, it brings back fond memories of my past rides on that road. It's kind of like taking video at an event you attended and keeping it for memory's sake. It is fun to play it back later and relive the experience.

Read what he has to say about this video that he posted a few years ago.

Here is another hill climb video someone posted last fall. Before he starts the climb he says "well, we'll see what it's like".

You get to watch both of these rides from beginning to end, and on the last one there is some footage of the finishing area.

Flying Merkel

02-01-11 12:47 PM

9 times out of 10 the music doesn't fit. I've seen videos of rides through peaceful countrysides with a death metal music track. If the music overwhelms the visual, the music is wrong.

freighttraininguphill

02-01-11 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flying Merkel
(Post 12164579)

9 times out of 10 the music doesn't fit. I've seen videos of rides through peaceful countrysides with a death metal music track. If the music overwhelms the visual, the music is wrong.

Ain't that the truth! I have seen tons of those videos. BEAUTIFUL mountain rides in the Sierras, but ear-splitting metal music. The mute button gets hit real quick on those!

I did find one video that actually had a song I liked. It was a descent video so I knew I wasn't missing quite as much by hearing music instead of wind noise. If it had been a climbing video I would have missed out on nature sounds and other background noises. I have found out from my own handlebar-cam climbing videos that wind noise is usually not a problem unless I am near the top of a mountain pass.

This is one of my only two descent videos. There is some wind noise, but it isn't as loud as I thought it would be. You can also hear the camera strap flapping in the breeze, which is why my current ride camera has no strap. I am riding my MTB on the road in that video, so I'm not able to pedal down the mountain due to the 42-14 high gear. I have another video of that same descent shot from my road bike, but cars in the way kind of ruined it because I couldn't get the speed I wanted. That video isn't on YouTube.

My climb video of that ride? 5-6 mph up the whole 3 mile climb. By looking at other people's Garmin Connect data for the same ride I found that almost everyone else climbs that road several mph faster than me.

iforgotmename

02-01-11 02:06 PM

I put music to my videos mainly because I like music, I also try to match my editing to the song. When I make a video the fun is in the editing as much as it was in the ride. I realize that not all people like all music but you can't please everyone. I have to admit to making a small movie rather than just a raw ride video. http://www.vimeo.com/18604943 This is just one example of my editing style. By the way Ben your video is great without the music.

freighttraininguphill

02-01-11 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iforgotmename
(Post 12165021)

I put music to my videos mainly because I like music, I also try to match my editing to the song. When I make a video the fun is in the editing as much as it was in the ride. I realize that not all people like all music but you can't please everyone. I have to admit to making a small movie rather than just a raw ride video. http://www.vimeo.com/18604943 This is just one example of my editing style. By the way Ben your video is great without the music.

That was a nicely edited short movie. I like the camera angles too.

I'm glad you liked my video :). I wish I could change my username on here, as I now see it confuses people. I made that name up when my primary ride was a recumbent trike, hence the name "bentrike". I'm actually a female, so my name's not Ben. Sorry for the confusion.

L.L. Zamenhof

02-01-11 03:43 PM

After watching the Ankerdine hill climb video, I can see why people put music in there. Listening to the wind and the guy moaning is painful, man. I know the noises that happen on bike rides from doing them myself.

Shimagnolo

02-01-11 03:44 PM

W/o music, all you will hear is heavy breathing, so it will sound like porn.:(

freighttraininguphill

02-01-11 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.L. Zamenhof
(Post 12165596)

After watching the Ankerdine hill climb video, I can see why people put music in there. Listening to the wind and the guy moaning is painful, man. I know the noises that happen on bike rides from doing them myself.

True, but you've got to admit that the video accomplishes the author's goal to allow the viewer to "experience the pain of a hill climb", as he said on his blog. Also it lets people see the reality of climbing. Since I like raw video, I like realistic-sounding videos.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimagnolo
(Post 12165607)

W/o music, all you will hear is heavy breathing, so it will sound like porn.:(

Gives new meaning to the phrase "bike porn" :D

Some of us women like to hear male heavy breathing :p OK, I will shut up now! Seriously though, as far as heavy breathing is concerned, see my reply to the poster above you. My videos sound pretty, uh, interesting too, but that is part of the fun for me when I watch them after a ride. Sometimes it's downright hilarious, especially on grades over 10%.

OK - I'm curious. Living in the flatlands and having only returned to cycling after many years away, I've never ridden a descent of really any kind (much less the prerequisite climb! :-). So, I'm asking for my general edification...

How much of such a ride is brake-riding for self-preservation vs. flat-out slipstreamed, unfettered coasting for max speed?

Just curious. :)

Shimagnolo

02-01-11 08:22 PM

All depends on the descent.

- On one extreme are most of the mtn descents around here: full of hairpin turns, so you need to keep your speed down to make the next turn, (especially if you are a big guy like me). e.g. Flagstaff Mt, Lookout Mt.

- At the other extreme is my favorite descent: Echo Lake to Idaho Springs. Just a few fairly large radius turns, so if I choose my line correctly, I can descend for 30 minutes w/o touching the brakes and w/o pedaling.

fietsbob

02-01-11 09:16 PM

In radio its called 'dead air', thats why music segments divide up interview segments, to
avoid dead air like the plague, or people dial away..

freighttraininguphill

02-01-11 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lphilpot
(Post 12166959)

OK - I'm curious. Living in the flatlands and having only returned to cycling after many years away, I've never ridden a descent of really any kind (much less the prerequisite climb! :-). So, I'm asking for my general edification...

How much of such a ride is brake-riding for self-preservation vs. flat-out slipstreamed, unfettered coasting for max speed?

Just curious. :)

On my video I only braked on some of the turns, probably not a lot. If I was a more daring descender and had been riding a road bike instead of my mtb, I would have braked less. However, the thought of a nasty crash at speed keeps me from taking too many risks.

xizangstan

02-01-11 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1nterceptor
(Post 12163313)

I put music on my videos now; otherwise you'll just
hear wind noise, the cassette clicking or car horns.

I guess I'm too conservative and rural. I'm amazed how none of you pays any attention to traffic lights or lane markings in New York. No wonder there's plenty of roadkill there! I'll stay out west, thank you.

Shimagnolo

02-01-11 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentrike
(Post 12167352)

On my video I only braked on some of the turns, probably not a lot. If I was a more daring descender and had been riding a road bike instead of my mtb, I would have braked less. However, the thought of a nasty crash at speed keeps me from taking too many risks.

Boulder Canyon.
This clip was shot halfway between Nederland and Boulder.
I was also on a mtn bike, but with 1.25" slicks.

I haven't been up the canyon in a few years (I'm originally from south of Denver around Castle Rock and Franktown), and so I was cringing when I saw how decomposed the pavement has become. I would ride a motorcycle with big tires on that, but on a bicycle with any less than 1.5" wide tires, it would be way too spooky for me.